Street-car fender.



Patented July 6, 1909.

Inventor:

Arij.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VINCENZO ALLEGRA, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR F ONE-HALF TO Pllllil P Fi. SAITTA.

STREET-CAR FENDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 6, 1909.

App1ication filed February 24, 1909. Serial No. 479,738.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VINCENZO ALLEGRA, a citizen ol' the United States, and a resident of the borough of Brooklyn, in the county oi 1 particularly to that class ol' lenders which are adapted to be operated by contact with the f person or object striking the same so as to take up and hold the said person or object and thus prevent him or it from falling beneath the wheels or being thrown from the fender. Its objects are, among others, to provide a fender for the accomplishment oi' these purposes of simple, strong and durable construction and of quick and reliable action, the parts being so formed and. arranged that the device is compact and sightly and not calculated to interfere with traffic, and may also be moved to a position where it is out of operation, or detached and placed at either end of the car.

To these ends the invention consists in the construction, combination and arran ement of arts hereinafter described and c aimed. an illustrated in the accompanying drawi ins.

n the said drawings, Figure 1 is a threequarter front view of one end of a street car with a fender embodying the improvements attached thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical medial section of the fender detached7 the illustration being on a larger scale than that of Fig. 1.

The main frame A consists of a metallic rod or tube bent to form substantially three sides of a rectangle and .having its forward lower part bent outward and upward, to better serve the purposes of the device. It is attached to the car by means of hooks or staples G, at its inner and upper ends, which are adapted to ass over the posts or standards H securedp to the bumper of the car. These posts are made longer than necessary to hold the fender while in its operating position, in order to give it a certain amount ol play, and also to enable them to hold the fender when it is raised out of its said operating position. By simply sliding the frame up until the upper hooks G pass off the top oi' the posts H, the fender may be placed in a non-operating position, and will remain in such position.

Within the main frame A a supplemental frame B is pivoted in such a manner that its outer and lower edge moves through a wider arc than its upper and inner edge. This is accomplished by simply placing,l the pivot (l nearer to the upper side of the frame. When this frame is in its tripped or sprung position, it is caught and held by the lever D, which cooperates as a pawl with the teeth E on the side of the frame adjacent thereto. This lever acts as a pawl and has its outer end-turned outwardly and upwardly on the outer side of the main frame A, this outer part being integral with the inner or iawl part which is pressed in the direction oi the teeth E by a spring J secured to the side of the main frame, so that as soon as the frame is tripped, the pawl end of the lever will snap into the teeth and prevent it from returning again to its normal position. The lever is pivoted to the side bar of the main frame A.

The inner and upper side of' the frame B is connected to the outer and lower side of the main frame A by the rods or wires F which have their u per ends turned around the u per bar of tlie said inner frame and their ower ends turned through the staples M on the lower bar of the said main outer frame. These rods or wires possess a certain degree of liexibility and the connection between their ends and the two frames is such as to permit of a certain amount of movement. In this manner the connection between the two frames by means of the rods or wires is prevented from interfering with the free and instantaneous movement of the said inner frame when it is sprungf7 The main frame A is provided with a netting K of suitable material stretched thereon,

and through this netting the side bars of the frame B pass near the pivot C, the inner and upper bars oi the frame being behind the said netting and the lower and outer bars in front of it. Between this lower bar and the lower bar of the main frame A a net L is strung, and this net also extends part way up the sides of the said frames, so as to form a pocket or basket when the inner frame is oscillated to its sprung position.

The netting stretched within the main frame forms the back of the pocket, and is always in the same position whereas the netting stretched between the part of the frame B which is in front of the Yrame A and the lower part of the frame A is folded up when the parts are in their normal position and stretched when the frame B is sprung, so that it forms the outer part of the said pocket.

The operation of the device is extremely simple and e'li'ective; when the body ol a person strikes the fender it immediately comes in contact with the upper bar of the frame B or one of the connecting rods F, and the impact causes the said inner frame to rock on its pivots so that its outer portion is thrown up and the pocket of netting thus formed to catch and hold the said person. It will be understood that when the body strikes one of the connecting rods, the frame B will be rocked even though the body does not strike the upper bar thereof, because the upper ends of the said connecting rods are secured to the said upper bar, and the tension on the rods caused by the impact will instantly pull the upper bar down and consequently throw the outer part of the frame B u 1. The combination of a main outer frame, a connection between the said frame and the car, a second frame rocking therein and eX- tending on both sides thereof pivoted within the said main frane, and netting or the like spread between the sides of the main frame.

2. The combination of a main outer frame, a connection between the said frame and the car, a second frame pivoted within the said main frame and extending on both sides thereof, and netting or the like spread between the sides of the main l'rame, and other netting between the lower and outer sides of the main frame and second frame.

3. The combination of a main outer frame, a connection between the said frame and the car, a second frame ivoted intermediate its ends within the said) frame, and netting or the like strun between the sides of the main frame, and ot er netting between the lower and outer sides of the main frame and second frame, and a iiexible connection between the said lower part of the main frame and the upper and inner part of the second frame.

4. The combination of a car, a main fender frame, a connection between the same and the car, a second frame pivoted within the said main frame and a catch adapted to permit the said inner frame to move to a position and locking it against returnin 5. The combination of a main rame attached to the car a second frame movably mounted within the main frame, netting or the like connecting the lower portions of the said two frames the construction and arrangement of the two frames bein such that the impact of the object striking t e upright part of the same causes thc inner frame to move and form a pocket of netting between the lower portions oll the said frames.

6. In a device of the character described the combination ol a main frame, a connection between the said main frame and the car, a second frame pivotcd to and adapted to rock on the main frame and mounted in a substantially upright position, rods connecting the upper part of the said second frame and the lower part of the main frame in such a manner as to permit movelnent of one with respect to the other, the construction and arrangement being such that the impact of a body striking the said rods or upper part oi' the second frame will cause the same to rock and assume a different position,

7. In a device of the character described the combination of a main frame, a connection between the said main frame and the car, a second frame pivoted to and adapted to rock on the main frame and mounted in a substantially upright position, rods connecting the upper part of the said second frame and the lower part oi' the main frame in such a manner as to permit movement of one with respect to the other, the construction and arrangement being such that the impact of a body striking the said rods or upper part of the second frame will cause the same to rock and assume a different position, and a lever pivoted adjacent to the pivot of the second rame having one end springressed against the said second frame and a apted to move to a position which will prevent the said frame from returning to its original position after being rocked.

8. In a device of the character described the combination of a main frame, a connection between the said main frame and the car whereby the former is mounted thereon in a substantially upright position, a second frame pivotally mounted on the first frame and adapted to rock vertically thereon, the major portion of the said second frame being below its pivot, whereby the said frame is held normall in a substantially upright position, but willybe rocked to position a roaching the horizontal by a weight str1 lng the upper part thereof, in which position a portion of the said second frame will project out beyond the main frame.

Witness my hand this 26th day of January, 1909, at the city of New York, in the county and State of New York.

VINCENZO ALLEGRA.

Witnessesz` PHILIP S. SAITTA, C. L. THIELL. 

